CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Background

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various states and federal agencies eased commercial motor vehicle (CMV) weight-limit regulations to facilitate safe and efficient emergency transportation of medical and other essential relief supplies. States used a variety of regulatory approaches to execute special permits that sometimes conflicted and were difficult to navigate. For example, Colorado suspended the gross weight provisions for vehicles weighing 80,001–84,999 pounds that were transporting emergency goods and services, while neighboring states increased their interstate weights to 90,000–100,000 pounds.

Similarly, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland implemented regulatory relief guidelines during the pandemic. However, because some suspended restrictions were applicable only while traveling in and through a particular state, CMV operators faced many challenges and confusion when ensuring compliance with regulations while traveling across jurisdictional lines. This highlights an issue often faced by oversize/overweight (OS/OW) CMV operators who traverse different regulating jurisdictions—a lack of consistency in definition and harmonization of policies and regulations.

Guide Purpose

This research report focuses on issues faced by state agencies in successfully implementing regulatory relief of overweight CMV requirements during emergencies. The research objectives of this study were as follows:

• Develop consistent definitions of emergencies, emergency commodities (classification/type), and other concepts.
• Identify successful practices, procedures, and processes for increasing weight limits during emergencies, including harmonization with neighboring jurisdictions.
• Develop a decision framework that considers different emergency scenarios that are linked with successful practices, procedures, and processes.
• Highlight successful communication practices and training opportunities to conduct before emergencies occur.

Guide Application and Organization

State permitting offices (also referred to as “state permit-issuing offices”) and decision-makers can use this guide to gain information about rules and regulations pertaining to emergency or disaster declaration; recognize steps and actions to proactively streamline processes, collaborations, and communications; and help identify best practices for during and after disasters. This report is segmented into the following parts:

• Part I—Introduction to Special Permitting for Overweight Divisible Loads in Disasters and Emergencies: This section focuses on the purpose of this guide, and the organization and specifics of rules and regulations pertaining to emergency and disaster declarations.
  • Chapter 1 introduces the guide, its organization, and its purpose.
  • Chapter 2 discusses emergencies, explaining what constitutes an emergency and disaster declaration and clarifying rules and regulations.
• Part II—Preparing for Emergency Overweight Special Permitting: This section focuses on phases of the emergency management cycle to increase preparedness of states to respond to and recover from disaster.
  • Chapter 3 introduces the steps involved in emergency preparedness and the role of state permitting offices within each phase of the emergency management cycle.
  • Chapter 4 focuses on steps decision-makers and state permitting offices can take before an emergency or disaster declaration for effective harmonization and coordination.
  • Chapter 5 discusses best practices during and after an emergency that weave in the findings of the case studies or interviews with stakeholders, which are available in NCHRP Web-Only Document 397: Developing a Guide for Transporting Freight in Emergencies: Conduct of Research.
• Part III—Tools and Resources: This section focuses on tools and resources that can be leveraged by state permitting offices and decision-makers to harmonize and coordinate special permits during emergency.
  • Chapter 6 covers tools and other resources for implementation.
• Appendix A—Contacts of State Permitting Authority.
• Appendix B—Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).